A Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center spokesperson confirmed that nurse practitioner Lincy Pandithurai would "retire from federal service" effective Jan. 21. Pandithurai reportedly told Esther Garatie, a honorably discharged Marine Lance Corporal who was seeking treatment for severe depression and possible post-traumatic stress disorder, that the reason she was depressed and contemplating suicide was because she was a lesbian.

“The board was able to substantiate material portions of the veteran’s claims,” the spokesperson said in a statement as quoted by the Dallas Observer. "Our commitment to equal rights remains strong as we practice our core values of integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect and excellence."

Upon learning of Pandithurai's removal, the 28-year-old Garatie also issued a statement. "I really want to thank all of the people that have come together to support me and other veterans," she said "Thank you for standing up against anything like this ever happening -- to any veteran -- ever again."

“She sat down and looked at me, and her first question was, ‘Are you a lesbian?’” Garatie wrote in a statement. “Her second question to me was, ‘Have you asked God into your heart? Have you been saved by Jesus Christ?’"

She concluded, "This is when I realized that I was no longer a United States veteran in her eyes, I was just a homosexual.”

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LBGT Service Cases

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Rose Marie Belforti, the town clerk in Ledyard, N.Y., drew national attention after refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The town's government is behind Belforti, saying it cannot force her to issue licenses.

A Florida-based lesbian couple said they were humiliated by their driver's license application "nightmare" after the Pinellas County DMV rejected their name change request after an hour-long wait.

The owner of a new gay bar on Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood said he was refused service because a printing company thinks homosexuality is wrong. The printing company's owner argued he didn't approve of the artwork on the promotional material.

Earlier this year, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit against the Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville, Vermont after the proprietors refused to host Katherine Baker and Ming-Lien Linsley's same-sex wedding reception. As ABC is reporting, the inn updated its website shortly thereafter to announce it is "no longer hosting weddings or special events."

In August, Alix Genter, a lesbian bride-to-be, claimed to have been denied service at Here Comes the Bride in Somers Point, N.J., after the salon's manager said she didn't want to be associated with the pending "illegal action," according to the Philadelphia Daily News.